LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Augustana softball has two of the fifty athletes from across the country named to the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards list. 2021 All-America selections Mary Pardo and Torri Chute are both on the list of the top-50 players in NCAA Division II.
 
Chute, hailing from Woodbury, Minnesota, leads Augustana with a 1.219 OPS while holding a .403 batting average. She's started all 23 games in 2022 and has racked up 27 hits, five home runs and five doubles while slugging at a .701 percentage. She reaches base in 51.8 percent of her at-bats while she has drawn 16 walks.
 
Pardo, a native of Andover, Minnesota, leads Augustana with six home runs while tallying 23 RBI. She hits at a .375 average while owning a 1.157 OPS and a team-best .713 slugging percentage.
 
The duo has helped Augustana to a No. 7 national ranking thus far in 2022 while holding an 18-5 record. Two games into the NSIC season, Augustana is 2-0, one of five teams in the league with an unblemished record.
 
Augustana returns to action Saturday and Sunday with two games each against No. 15 Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul. All four games will take place in Mankato, Minnesota, with the Vikings and Mavericks scheduled for a first pitch at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, the Vikings and Golden Bears are slated for an 11 a.m. first pitch.
 
The Player of the Year award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievements among softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include a Player and Pitcher of the Year. The list is compiled and the award is voted on by the elected members of the NFCA Division II All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the eight NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student-athletes' head coach must be a member.
 
The Top 25 finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards will be announced on May 5. A student-athlete does not have to be on the Top 50 list to be considered for the Top 25. The winner of each award will be announced on June 2, following the conclusion of the 2022 season.